Page 129 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

No thanks. My dad was definitely being weird. But whatever. As long as it was fine for Axel to stay. I popped a grape into my mouth. “I’ll go get Liam.” I hurried up the stairs. “Yo.” I knocked on this door. “Time for brunch.”

There was no response.

“Liam?” I knocked again.

No response.

I tried to open the door but it was locked. “Liam, stop being gross in there.”

No response.

“When you’re done doing whatever it is we both know you’re doing, come eat.” But I’d suddenly lost my appetite. I walked down the stairs and almost collided with Liam when I reached the landing. What the?

Liam stepped around me and peered into the kitchen. “Did they realize I was gone?” he whispered.

“Where were you?”

“Out.”

I stared at him. “Did you just use the trapdoor to sneak in this morning?”

“Yup.”

“You can’t just use it all willy nilly. I need my privacy.”

“You’re the one that decided to move your bedroom down there,” he said. “And why the heck would you need privacy?”

Gah! “Liam, you can’t use it to sneak out all night. What if we get caught?”

He shrugged. “We’re going to get caught eventually. Briggs and Porter aren’t stupid. I figured I should use it while I can.”

“Seriously, where were you?”

Liam peered into the kitchen. “Why is Axel here?”

Ah. I’d missed him coming in. I hurried into the kitchen before my dad could do anything too weird. But I was too late.

“She and Jacob make a perfect couple,” my dad said. “Don’t you think?”

I grimaced.

Liam laughed.

“Oh, yeah, Uncle James,” Axel said and turned to me. “It does appear that she and Jacob make a perfect couple.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Why isn’t Jacob here for breakfast?” Axel asked. “I thought Scarlett invited him too. Is he running late?”

What was he doing? Was he trying to make Jacob look bad or something? If so, I wasn’t going to let it work. “He couldn’t make it,” I quickly said.

“Oh, that’s a shame. I guess it’s just the five of us then.”

“That is a shame,” my dad said. “We would have loved to have Jacob over for brunch. Invite him for next weekend, Scarlett. He probably just needed more advance notice.”

“Mhm.” My voice came out squeaky and weird. I really hated piling more lies on top of lies.

“Oh, I forgot,” Axel said. “Jacob has that school project with that Olivia girl. They were working on it this morning.”

What?!

“Olivia?” my mom asked. “Are you guys friends with her?”

“Nah,” Axel said. “She kinda runs in a bad crowd. I heard she’s really into drugs. I’m actually surprised that Jacob teamed up with her for a project.”

Liam laughed.

Stop laughing! This isn’t funny! Why was Axel trying to make Jacob look bad? And was Jacob seriously with Olivia right now? What project could they possibly be working on together? They weren’t even in the same grade. “Is it time to eat?”

My dad seemed a little flustered by Axel’s strange Olivia announcement.

But my mom didn’t miss a beat. “Yes. Pancakes are up. Everyone sit down.” She walked over to the kitchen island and placed down a plate piled high with pancakes. My mom and dad sat down at one side of the kitchen island, while Liam, Axel, and I sat down at the other.

An awkward silence settled around us. I grabbed a pancake and started eating.

“So...” my mom said and turned to me. “Did you have fun babysitting Parker last night?” She was changing the subject, and I didn’t know whether to be grateful or not. I needed more information about this supposed project. It would be better to just ask Jacob directly though.

“It was very eventful,” I said.

“Oh?” Axel turned to me. “How so?”

Did he somehow know what Sophie and I had done? No. That wasn’t possible. I cleared my throat. “Parker really wanted to draw on the walls.”

Axel laughed.

“And she’s been watching way too much reality TV. She gave Sophie and me pretend shots in teacups. And then proceeded to pretend to be so drunk that she fell off a stool.” She was starting to remind me a lot of her brother.

“Why was Sophie there?” my mom asked.

“Parker invited her. She said we were having a girls’ night.”

“That’s cute. I’m glad you girls had a good time. What did you do last night, Axel?”

“I know your father said you were on a date,” my dad said. “Let’s hear all about that, shall we?”

My mom gave my dad a weird look.

“Yup,” Axel said. “I was on a date.” He didn’t offer any more information.

Because he couldn’t. Because he was a dirty liar and wasn’t with George!

“That’s fantastic,” my dad said. “Someone serious, I hope?”

“It could be,” Axel said.

I glared at him. “You think you could be serious with George ? Really?”

“Oh, are you dating a man?” my dad asked. A huge smile spread across his face. “That’s so fantastic, Axel. Congratulations. Isn’t that fantastic, Penny?”

My mom looked so confused.

Axel laughed. “No, I’m not dating a man, Uncle James. That’s just what Parker, and now apparently Scarlett, calls the girl I’m seeing. Her name is Georgia.”

“She’s a 10 for sure,” Liam said.

The two of them high fived.

My dad frowned. He seemed very disappointed that Axel wasn’t gay.

What is happening right now?

“And what about you, Liam?” my mom asked. “How was your night? You were here all night, right?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “I just watched a movie and called it an early night. I’m trying to get a lot of rest this week. I want to be fresh for the homecoming game.”

Liar!

“Very good,” my dad said. “So I know that Scarlett is going to homecoming with her boyfriend. Jacob,” he added, like we weren’t all aware. “Do you boys have dates?”

“I’m going to ask someone last minute,” Liam said.

My dad didn’t seem at all effected by that announcement. My dad didn’t talk much about his time in high school. But I was starting to suspect that he’d been a serious asshole.

“And you, Axel?” he asked.

“I’m going with Sophie,” Axel said.

“I didn’t know that you had a crush on Sophie,” my dad said. “I love that for you. Definitely pursue that. Or the Georgia thing.”

My mom rolled her eyes and I laughed.

I couldn’t believe my dad had just said, “I love that for you.” He was hanging out with kids my age too much from stalking me at school. He was seriously out of control.

“We’re just going as friends,” Axel said. “The guy she wanted to ask wasn’t...available.”

That was one way to describe the Mr. Halifax situation.

“That’s so sweet of you,” my mom said. “Isn’t that sweet, James?”

“Sure,” my dad said, deadpan.

“Who did you guys go to homecoming with your senior year?” I asked my parents.

“Oh, I skipped it,” my mom said.

“Baller,” Liam said.

My mom smiled at him.

“And you, Dad?” I asked.

He cleared his throat. “I went solo. My girlfriend at the time was...well...we were in a fight.”

“Opposite of baller,” Liam said.

My dad laughed. “Well, I did get to kiss someone I’d been wanting to kiss.”

My mom glared at him.

“And I did win Homecoming King. And got in a fist fight. And then I got back together with my girlfriend by the end of the night.”

I had so many questions.

“Who won Homecoming Queen?” Liam asked.

That wasn’t my top question. But I was curious.

My dad glanced at my mom and then back at me. “Isabella Pruitt.”

Pruitt. Wait. “Jacob’s grandpa’s other daughter?

” Isabella Pruitt had been brought up a couple times in my household growing up.

And everyone was always hush hush about her.

I knew she’d died before I was born. And whenever my dad and Jacob’s grandfather were in the same room, everything always felt a little uncomfortable.

“Yes,” my dad said. “Anyway...” He looked over at Penny.

“Axel,” my mom said. “We had so much fun going out with your parents last night.”

“Actually, we did,” my dad said.

He didn’t elaborate.

This was the most awkward breakfast ever.

I wanted to know who my dad kissed at homecoming. And who he got in a fist fight with. But my parents seemed pretty stuck on changing the subject.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and subtly looked at it under the lip of the kitchen counter.

Sophie had texted: “The chicken is in the roost.”

“What?” I texted back.

“Gog is at the Stevens’ residence.”

I tried to hide my laugh. “Great.”

“How is the distraction going?”

“Awkward. I’ll catch you up soon.” I slid my phone back into my pocket.

“Texting anyone interesting this morning?” Axel asked.

“Just...Jacob. He’s so sorry he couldn’t make it. And he finished up that project with Olivia so he never has to associate with her again.”

“How convenient,” Axel said.

I turned back to my parents. “So you had fun with the Stevenses?”

“Yes, we had a great night,” my mom said. “We caught up on everything going on with you kids. It was a good time.”

“What stuff exactly did you catch them up on?” I pictured Uncle Tyler and Aunt Hailey’s faces when I told them I was dating Jacob.

“Oh, everything,” my dad said. “It was extra fun talking to Tyler about your new boyfriend, Scarlett. We all had a great time.”

“Why would you talk about us with your friends?”

“Because it’s fun,” my dad said.

Right. I’d been around my parents and their friends a lot. And they usually had their own stuff going on. Why were they suddenly being so gossipy about their kids? “Don’t you guys have grownup stuff to talk about?” I asked.

“My daughter having her first boyfriend definitely makes me feel grown up,” my dad said. “I had fun telling Tyler all about it.”

“All night,” my mom said.

Okay, well, this was fun and everything, but... “Should we get going to Axel’s place?”

“You barely ate anything, pumpkin,” my dad said. “Here. Have another pancake.” He put one down on my plate.

“Breakfast is delicious,” Axel said as he helped himself to another pancake.

“Thank you, Axel,” my mom said.

“I wonder when they’re going to announce this year’s homecoming court,” Liam said. “You guys will probably be on it.”

“Axel will be,” I said. “Not me.”

Liam stared at me. “You and Soph are the most popular girls in school.”

I hung out with Soph, Axel, and Jacob. I was popular by association.

If I was actually popular, I wouldn’t have saved my first kiss until senior year.

I pressed my lips together. But there was one key word there.

Saved. And Jacob had told me that Axel had been keeping his teammates away from me for years. ..

“They announce it on the Monday before homecoming usually,” Axel said. “So I guess we’ll see tomorrow.” He smiled at me. “You’ll definitely be nominated for queen.”

My stomach did a summersault. As football captain, Axel was a shoo-in for king. But I didn’t want to let myself hope that I’d be his queen.

“I bet Jacob and Scarlett will win,” my dad said. “They’ll get more votes because they’re dating.”

“Were you dating Isabella Pruitt?” Liam asked.

“No,” my dad said. “But I’m pretty sure she rigged it. And honestly, your Uncle Mason probably should have won Homecoming King.”

“Who did you get in a fight with at homecoming?” I asked.

“Would you look at the time?” My dad glanced at his watch. “We should get going to the game. I’m excited to hang out with Tyler again.”

My mom laughed. “Okay, let me go get my Eagles sweatshirt.”

We all groaned.

Except Axel. “Go birds,” he said. He lifted his hand for a high five and my mom high fived him.

Traitors. But my mom had grown up in Delaware. And Uncle Tyler had too. Hopefully the Giants would kill them today.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to look at Soph’s text.

“Slight hiccup,” she’d texted.

“What?”

“Parker lost the key to Axel’s room.”

“What do you mean she lost it?”

“I don’t know, Scarlett! The key is gone! And I don’t know how to lock pick! What are we going to do?”

I glanced at Axel.

“What’s up?” he asked. “Can the boyfriend not make it to the game either? Olivia must be keeping him busy.”

Crap...was Jacob actually with Olivia right now?

My head was so scrambled. But I could only tackle one problem at a time. “Excuse me,” I said and grabbed Liam’s arm. I pulled him away from the kitchen.

“I’m still eating,” Liam said with a mouthful of food.

My brother was clearly up to some shady shit. Russian girlfriends. Sneaking out at all hours. Lying to my parents like it was easy. He better know how to pick a lock too or I’m disowning him.